A company with its roots in the buy-here, pay-here space is continuing to expand an artificial intelligence-powered financial services platform serving Hispanic consumers.

Tricolor recently announced an exclusive agreement with Phenx Machine Learning Technologies. In early testing, Tricolor’s newly AI-enabled algorithm demonstrated enhanced underwriting accuracy and the ability to rapidly scale to score massive amounts of data records.

“Over the past decade, we have continued to refine our scoring methodology to accurately assess risk and responsibly extend over $900 million in affordable loans to subprime Hispanic customers,” said Daniel Chu, chief executive officer of Ganas Holdings, the parent company of Tricolor Auto Group.

“The addition of Phenx’s advanced AI into our algorithms immediately improved this accuracy and showed an ability to process massive amounts of additional data. We are excited to expand this work through this exclusive agreement and uncover even more applications for our platform,” Chu continued.

Headquartered in Dallas, Tricolor, together with its affiliate, Ganas Auto Group, operate 30 retail dealerships across 12 markets in Texas and California, as well as a shared services center in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Cincinnati-based Phenx Machine Learning Technologies develops deep learning algorithms that automatically can identify the core patterns hidden in data to help make smart business decisions. Tricolor has applied this technology to its credit scoring methodology which segments customers into six credit grades.

In early testing, the new AI-enabled algorithms were able to identify the quality loans in each segment for cleaner segmentation of loan and credit types. Based on these promising results, the two companies have entered into an exclusive agreement for financial services serving the Hispanic consumer. 

“Because of its proprietary and market leading analytics to underwrite credit invisible consumers and its commitment to invest in technology, Tricolor is uniquely positioned to capitalize on AI solutions,” said Saurabh Sarkar, founder and chief executive officer of Phenx, who previously spent seven years as a vice president at JPMorgan Chase developing advanced models to support a $50 billion auto finance portfolio.

“We are enthusiastic that this partnership will not only result in significantly enhanced underwriting processes, but also accelerate Tricolor’s overall vision to become the premier financial services platform serving this niche consumer,” Sarkar continued.

Tricolor Auto Group in Texas and Ganas Auto Group in California, utilizing advanced data analytics and technology to advance financial inclusion to a highly underserved market, offer responsible, affordable, credit-building auto financing to individuals with no or limited credit history.

On a combined basis, Tricolor and Ganas have served nearly 50,000 customers and generated nearly $900 million in paper.

And that’s why Chu is upbeat about the development with Phenx.

“There are 45 million people in the United States whose lack of a credit score translates into limited options for financing major purchases such as a motor vehicle,” Chu said. “We are excited to be the exclusive Hispanic financial services partner for Phenx, and eager to apply their leading AI technology in service to our customers.”